Drastic Measures
by MydnytAngel
Summary: Damon takes drastic measures to keep Elena safe. But what will she say? ch 3 finally up!
1. Chapter 1

Damon could feel his body trembling with rage as he watched Andie leave his room. This wasn't who he was. When he wanted something he took it, no matter what. He never let Stefan stand in his way before, but this time, it was different. It wasn't about Stefan, it was about Elena, and forcing her to be with him, would hurt her, and he couldn't bare to do that. But he couldn't do the rest of it either. He flung open his closet door, angrily tossing his duffel bag on his bed, only to pause. He had money. The faster he got out of this house, the better. He could buy new stuff, things that didn't smell like her, so he could get her out of his head. He grabbed his jacket and yanked his arms through the sleeves as he headed downstairs.

"Damon?"

He froze at the tone of her voice, cursing himself for not being able to resist her. She had him wrapped around her finger and she knew it. "What?" he asked, turning to face her as he dug the keys out of the pocket. He so easily could be out the door and in his car before she knew what was happening. But something stopped him.

Elena frowned as she stared at him. "Please don't be mad," she said. He imagined he looked pretty angry and scary. His muscles were all twitching, ready for a fight, and Elena was bound to provoke him far enough.

"Little late for that Elena," he growled, his cold eyes watching her as she approached him. He was beyond mad. She had pushed too many of his buttons and so had Stefan. If he didn't get out of her he was going to hurt someone.

"I told you I needed another plan," she said. "I wasn't gunna let anything happen to Bonnie."

"Congratulations," he said, folding his arms. He wasn't going to let anything happen to anyone either. Did she think he was just looking out for her? He had to look out for Jeremy, and Judgy, and Stefan and Jenna. Had to make sure they were all safe so that Elena wouldn't worry. So Elena could sleep at night. Apparently that didn't mean anything.

"He has information Damon," she said desperately. "We need his help to kill Klaus."

"There is no 'we'," Damon said. "There is you, your new vampire body guard, and your shitty vampire boyfriend. You do not need me for this." He was sure under different circumstances he could see the logic in what she was trying to do, but this time it had just been too far.

The worry increased on her face and he could hear her heart start to race. "Where are you going?" she asked softly. And the moment of truth.

"I'm leaving," he said as he opened the door.

"When are you going to be home?" Home? That was a strange term, and one that didn't fit the messed up situation. It was just a building now that she had taken over and did whatever she wanted. Everyone he wanted to keep away from her was starting to get free passes. What the hell was the point then?

"I'm not," he said simply as he closed the door. As he walked down the porch steps he could hear her rip open the front door.

"What do you mean, you're not?" she asked, coming down the stairs. She really wanted to do this ring around?

"Just what I said," he said, keeping his eyes on his car, trying to keep his focus. He had to get out of Mystic Falls. He needed to get far away. Europe maybe. Somewhere where there was no Elena, no anything. Just Damon and whatever he wanted.

Her feet pounded the sidewalk as she caught up to him. "You can't leave," she said grabbing his arm. "We need you here."

"To do what?" He flared. "Drink myself into oblivion to keep from going insane? Everything I say or do, you think is wrong and you go behind everyone's back to do whatever you want to do." How far did she think she could push him before he snapped? He wasn't Stefan. He had to work extra hard to make sure he was going the right thing.

She stared up at him with wide eyes, but her hand didn't release his bicep. "What?" she whispered. "That isn't true."

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Yes it is," he said. "You never listen to me, about anything I say."

"You are willing to sacrifice the people I love," she flared as her eyes filled with tears.

His heart ached at the site of her crying. He hated it. It ripped him apart knowing how much pain she was going through and there was nothing he could do. But this would help. Him not being here would take away some of her pain. "That's not what I said Elena," he said. "You are not going to save everyone. Someone is going to die through all of this, and there won't be anything you can do. I have gone above and beyond what I ever dreamed of to keep you safe, to keep everyone safe. And you know what I get? Stefan taunting me day in and day out, making me angry. Do you ever stop to think about what all this is doing to the rest of us?"

Tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm scared too Damon," she whispered.

She'd be a fool not to be scared. It was her life that was in peril. "It's different," he said softly. "Everything I do, have been doing, I've done for you, and in the end, it's not going to matter. If I keep you safe, keep everyone else safe, it's not going to matter. You respect Stefan because he lets you walk all over him and do what you want. He never tells you that you're wrong. I call you out on everything and I tell you the truth. I have never lied to you. I never sugar coat anything, and maybe I'm a little impulsive, but you look for every excuse to fight me."

Her heart skipped a beat as she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. "Damon I know you've done a lot for me, and it means a lot," she said softly. "Please don't leave."

Damon sighed as her voice washed over him. "I'm not strong enough to do this Elena," he said shaking his head. "I can't do it anymore."

"But why?" she pleaded tugging on his arm. "Is it because I woke up Elijah?"

He couldn't believe that she was this blind to his feelings for her. Was she really that far in denial to realize what was right in front of her face? "Just let me leave," he said softly. "You know Stefan can see us."

"I don't care," she said immediately. "I'm not letting you leave."

"Why?" He asked angrily. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"

For a moment, she didn't answer him. She knew that what she said next was going to change her life. Damon was going to leave if she didn't give him an answer he desperately needed. "Damon…"

He really didn't want an answer. He knew she cared about him. He did know that. He knew they were friends on some level. But she was always going to love Stefan. He knew that too. He knew that like a kick to the stomach. He didn't need a reminder. "Just don't okay," he said, moving away from her. "Go back inside."

"No!" she said in a panic, taking a step toward him. "Damon please. I need you." Her voice was cracking, just like his heart. Why did he let her do this to him? Why couldn't he just walk away?

"Not anymore, you don't," he said sadly. "Elijah can keep you safe now. And don't forget St. Stefan."

"What are you guys doing?" Stefan asked from the porch. Perfect timing.

Elena glanced at Stefan as he came down the stairs then back at Damon who was continuing to his car. "Damon," she whispered once more, her feet taking a step toward him, away from Stefan. Away from everything she had known for the past year. But she couldn't lose Damon. "I love you." She could barely hear herself say it, but she knew both brothers did.

Damon froze, his back ram-rod straight as his hands curled into powerful fists. "You shouldn't say things you don't mean."

"She's not," Stefan said.

Damon spun on his heel to glare at Stefan. "Not an hour ago you were telling me how much I didn't have her," he growled. "You're the reason I'm in this mess Stefan."

"I was wrong," Stefan said folding his arms. "I'm sorry."

Elena heard Stefan go back into the house, but her eyes hadn't left Damon's face since her confession. Tears and all, she waited for his reaction. She waited for the world to implode at loving him. It wasn't the right time. So much was wrong, there was so much damage and hurt between them. Hurt that Damon had been keeping bottled up from her and she so desperately wanted to take away. They needed each other. She needed to be able to completely trust one person. She knew that one person was going to be Damon.


	2. Chapter 2

_Elena heard Stefan go back into the house, but her eyes hadn't left Damon's face since her confession. Tears and all, she waited for his reaction. She waited for the world to implode at loving him. It wasn't the right time. So much was wrong, there was so much damage and hurt between them. Hurt that Damon had been keeping bottled up from her and she so desperately wanted to take away. They needed each other. She needed to be able to completely trust one person. She knew that one person was going to be Damon._

Damon stared at her for a few long moments, his brain still processing what was happening. At first he didn't believe her, but Stefan had gone back inside, and she was still here. She was waiting for him to say something, to do something. He should tell her to go back inside, to go back to Stefan and he'd walk out of her life forever. But how many selfless acts did she expect him to make? He just wanted her and she seemed to want the same thing. He needed her. In three strides, he had her face in his hands, his lips on hers. Both their faces were streaked with tears, but he didn't care. As much as it pained him, he had to pull back so she could breathe. His thumbs stroked her cheek as his forehead rested against hers. "Oh Elena," he whispered.

"I'm so sorry Damon," she whimpered. "I didn't want to hurt you, I was just scared. I'm so scared." She'd been denying herself this for so long, she was afraid of losing everyone she cared about because she felt for him.

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Shhh," he said softly. "Let's just go inside and talk to Elijah." He was going to have to make nice with the older vampire but he'd be damned if he was going to roll over like Stefan did. He made the hard decisions, like he said. He wasn't going to apologize for trying to protect her. He had to do what he had to do, no matter what the consequences, even if Elena hated him in the end. If everyone was kept safe, including her, she'd eventually understand.

She sniffled and wiped her nose. "I know you don't want to do this," she mumbled. But she knew he would do it for her. She had made a conscious decision to wake up Elijah, and he hadn't killed any of them yet. He had to trust her a little, even if she was very stubborn sometimes.

"Come on," he said. He slid his arm around her and guided her towards the door. He squared his shoulders and nudged her upstairs. "I'll be up in a few minutes." She stole one last kiss from him before doing as he said, and he briefly thought about Stefan cornering her upstairs, but she could hold her own. He sighed and headed through the parlor, finding Elijah on the sofa.

"Elena is a very smart girl," Elijah said.

"I know she is," Damon said, folding his arms. She was too smart for her own good, and sometimes a little slow. "Look, you were going to take her away from me. I couldn't let you do that."

"Klaus is my brother," Elijah said. "He was willing to sacrifice Katerina, and I was not. But as you can see.. She ruined it all by turning herself."

He had not been expecting that. So Katherine had not ruined them, but others as well. Just to get what she wanted in life. She was willing to hurt anyone in her path, people he cared about. "And Elena is paying for it," Damon growled. "I swear I'm going to rip her apart as soon as this is over."

"Do you hate your brother?" Elijah asked, raising an eyebrow.

What kind of question was that? Sometimes he wanted to hate Stefan. Stefan was perfect, Stefan had everything any man could ever want. Or did have. But still… Stefan was his brother. And at some point that had started to mean something to both of them again. Damon clenched his jaw. "Not about Katherine," he said. "She's not worth it."

"And Ms. Elena is?"

Damon could have rolled his eyes. Anyone who knew her for more then five minutes, knew how special she was. "She is worth so much more then that," he said firmly. "You can keep your deal with her. To protect everyone around her, but don't you ever put her life before mine. No matter what she says. She won't die for me."

"You're a good man Damon," Elijah said, rising to his feet. "Tomorrow I will fill you in on what I've told Elena. You have my word, I will do my best to keep her alive."

Damon watched carefully as Elijah extended his hand and his heart clenched as he grasped it, knowing he was entrusting Elena's safety to someone other them himself. But he had to do this. She met him half way, he had to do the same for her. "I'm trusting you," he said.

Elijah nodded once and then he was gone, allowing Damon to finally go upstairs. He was tired, exhausted, but they had to talk. He quietly entered his room and paused, a small smile forming on his face. She was curled up under his comforter with one of his shirts on it looked like, sound asleep. He changed into pajama pants, knowing she wouldn't appreciate him sleeping nude next to her so soon, and slipped in beside her. His nose buried itself in her hair, his arm going around her waist, his eyes finally closing.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena inhaled softly as she slowly swam back to consciousness. Her cheek was pillowed against a rock solid chest, the dark curtains keeping the sunlight from filtering through. Her eyes traveled up the chest and fell on Damon's peaceful face and she smiled warmly. Last night had been hell for them both and she knew there was so much more to work out. She just knew she couldn't let him leave, no matter what it took. He was angry at her, and she understood that, but she couldn't lose him. He was so important to her, they had gotten so close the last few weeks and in one night she had almost lost it all. She was a little sad for hurting Stefan, and there was still so much going on, she didn't want any extra drama. Her lips brushed against his softly, sighing as his arms tightened around her. "Hi," she whispered. She could definitely get used to waking up like this.

Damon's nose nuzzled against her. "Good morning beautiful," he said a smile curving on his lips. His eyes were sparkling such a brilliant shade of blue, so vibrant and happy. She had never seen such a side to him, so open and vulnerable, just for her. How could she not love this man? She had seen so much of him in the last 12 hours, things she would cherish for the rest of her life. He would never be that honest with anyone other than her. "How did you sleep?"

"Wonderful," she said propping her head in her hands as she stared at him. "Sorry I crashed on you." It wasn't like she had chickened out, just as soon as she had undressed and crawled under the covers, she was out like a light. She had been so tired lately, unable to get a good night's sleep, it felt good to relax for the first time in a long time.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "It was a long night," he agreed, running his fingers through her tangled tresses. He didn't seem mad or accusatory; he was just letting her set the pace and ease into what she knew was going to be a rough conversation. He had questions, she owed him explanations for her actions.

"Yeah," she agreed, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on his bare chest. On more then one occasion she had dreamed of his beautiful body, and her lips tasting every inch of him. "I was going to wait, until after Klaus, to tell you. I was just… scared I guess. There was so much going on, there is still a lot going on, I just knew I couldn't lose you." She had wanted it to be right, special, and not rushed. But there was so little time, so little guarantee of what was to come for her.

"And what about Stefan?" he asked, his knee sneaking between hers. She felt the need herself, to be close to him. Her toes touched his gently, just making simple, affectionate gestures. She wanted to reassure him that she was serious about her feelings, as much as reassure herself that this was really happening. "Just like that, you're gunna be with me?"

Elena opened her mouth to say something then closed it for a moment. "I love Stefan," she said, carefully, wanting to chose her words correctly. "It's just different now. We haven't been the same since Katherine came back. Other things became more important, and… feelings change. I just didn't want to hurt anyone, which just seemed to make it worse. You and I fought a lot more then we ever used to and I hated that and I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

Damon shook his head and cradled her cheek. "You do not have to apologize," he said softly, his thumb stroking over her cheek tenderly. "I know you cared about us both. And at first I was fine with us being friends, because when you hated me that was… awful. I thought I could handle you being with Stefan, and that was obviously not the case."

"You were really going to leave?" she whispered.

Damon sighed and rolled on his back, bending his arm to rest a hand behind his head. "Yes I was," he admitted. "How far I would have gotten before I felt bad… who can say. But probably not very. I was just tired of trying. Like you said, we always seemed to be fighting and it just seemed easier to run."

"I would have come after you, you know," she said in an obvious tone as she kissed him softly hopefully lightening the mood a little. His arms pulled her closer to him just slightly as he nibbled on her lower lip. "I'm just going to grab some clean clothes then we can… get out of here for a little bit before we have to talk to Elijah." That meant she had to go to Stefan's room and that unnerved her a little but Damon didn't make a comment. She knew that the Stefan issue wasn't going to go away over night with Damon, and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. With a final kiss she climbed out of his bed and slid her jeans on under his shirt before leaving with a dumb smile on her face. She was barely paying attention as she made her way down the few steps of the hall to Stefan's room and without thinking she just walked right in, only to freeze in her tracks.

"Elena…" Caroline said, in horror. "This isn't what it looks like."

Elena stared at her friend with shock as she backed out of the room, ready to back track to the Damon's room. Numerous emotions fluttered through her, betrayal, hurt, confusion. It was her best friend. She had no right to Stefan, but she couldn't believe he would sleep with Caroline.

Caroline came flying out, a sheet wrapped around her body and grabbed her arm gently. "Elena, I'm so sorry."

Elena raised her devastated face as Damon joined them in the hall but she was at a loss for words. "Um… I should have knocked," she said in a dull voice. "It's none of my business." She waited for the brawl was she knew was going to come as soon as Damon opened his mouth to call his brother some profanity, but Damon's eyes hadn't left her face as his hand landed on the small of her back. She could feel tears prickling her eyes at his comfort but she blinked them away rapidly. "I'm… fine. Lets just go downstairs." She slipped passed him, swallowing the lump in her throat as her feet found each stair hastily.

"Elena," Damon said gently grabbing her wrist once they were in the living room. He tilted her face up to his and she could feel the tears spilling over her lids. She didn't want to burden him with her feelings about this. She didn't want him to think that she didn't mean anything she had said the last 24 hours. "It's okay to be upset."

The tension easily slipped out of her body. "It's not like this is easy for me," she mumbled. "I just…. don't want to dump this on you. Not like you want to hear about him."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You're very silly," he said in a soft, amused voice. "I'm not a baby Elena. I'm very aware of the choice you made last night and just because you're not with him anymore doesn't mean the feelings aren't there."

"Can't you just call him a butthead and beat him up?" she asked hopefully, a smile finally curving on her lips. He always knew how to calm her down, how to cheer her up. He was always honest with her, always told her what was on her mind. She could handle this. Damon could handle her, and accept her.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "I could do that," he said, kissing her hair. "I can handle the Stefan stuff Elena. Been handling it for months now, just as long as you're honest with me." He had made mistakes along the way, ones that had bothered her deeply, but she was a forgiving person, and Damon was more than deserving. He was trying to change for her, he had changed for her, and she could no longer ignore that.

Caroline and Stefan came plowing down the stairs, now fully clothed. "Elena," Caroline said desperately. "We just had too much to drink."

Elena sighed into Damon's chest before pulling back slightly. "Stefan's sex life is his own business," she said. "I just… not used to knocking. I'll remember next time."

"I'm confused," Caroline said. "I thought… you'd be way madder than this." She could see her friend take in the way Damon held her, the possessive grasp they had on her hips. He had never touched her in such a way before, like she belonged to him, and he was only marking her in a subtle way and she didn't mind.

"Elena you left me," Stefan said sadly. "I'm sure you and Damon couldn't keep your hands off each other."

"Right," Elena said dryly. "I just pretended the last 2 years of my life didn't happen and hopped right into bed with your brother. Is that what you're heard Stefan? Were you so drunk you imagined me and Damon together? So to get back at me you slept with my friend?" She raised an eyebrow. "Good to know that's what you've thought of me all this time."

"I've known for some time now that you were in love with him," Stefan said. "I knew this was going to happen."

"Except we didn't sleep together," Damon said raising an eyebrow. "So stop being a jerk Stefan." Her body leaned closer to Damon's as she relaxed a little more.

"Let's just go," Elena said softly tugging on his hand. "No need for anymore fights." She moved around Caroline and Stefan and took a deep breath of fresh air once they were outside. She smiled up at Damon as they headed to his car. "I guess I should say thanks for not killing him."

Damon squeezed her hand. "He's a jerk," he said softly. "Not worth any tears. Lets stop by your house so you can change and… whatever else you do then I can take you to breakfast."

"Is that like a date?" she teased climbing into the passenger seat.

Damon laughed as he got behind the wheel. "Not my definition of a date no," he said. "Just breakfast between two people who happen to care about each other a lot. There'll be plenty of time for a date later."

"I can't wait," she said her smile growing as they left the boarding house.


End file.
